Symbiosis
by Tuume
Summary: To get what you want to have, you've got to do the things you need to do. Sometimes you need to do certain things with certain people that you wouldn't think you'd ever do... Rouge and Tails are no different.


**Symbiosis**

Disclaimer: I don't own Tails, Rouge, or any of the characters of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

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**LAST STOP: MYSTIC RUINS PLEASE EXIT QUICKLY AND SAFELY AND THANK YOU FOR RIDING THE STATION SQUARE RAILWAY**

Rouge muscled her way past the tired late night workers and stepped onto the wooden platform just barely getting her wings out in time. With a stretch, she looked over her shoulder as the rail departed back to Station Square to load and unload another round of passengers. She grimaced at the thought of taking the rail back.

Though the rail was a quick, inexpensive mode of transportation, Rouge detested being packed like a sardine. All that jostling and the weight of bodies much heavier than hers was not her idea of an enjoyable ride. Give her a jet or a car any day… But on the other hand it beat flying. She could have very well flown to the ruins, but it was a long way from Station Square, and she would have run herself ragged trying to make the trip.

Yep. Better to count her blessings and take what she could get.

Rouge turned and leapt onto the wooden banister of the platform. The breeze from the sea ruffled her fur and Rouge sighed. She spread her powerful wings and sprang onto the updraft of air, graceful. With the air beneath her wings there was no need to flap at all, so she just cruised, enjoying the ride.

She swept under the platform and up to the seaside cliff that Tails home was built upon. She folded her wings and landed neatly on his doorstep. She wasted no time knocking. Tails had called to confirm that her order had been completed. She simply needed to pick it up. The thief strode into Tails' home.

The house was simply furnished. A couch on top of a rug in the center of the room. A modest television, coffee table. On top of a mount on the wall were pictures from earlier adventures. Rouge reached out and plucked a random frame from the mount to study. A small smile alighted her face.

The picture she'd picked up was from just after the defeat of Black Doom. They, Sonic, Shadow, Rouge herself, Omega, Amy, Cream, Vector, Charmy, Espio, and finally, Tails were grouped haphazardly in front of the cliff that Tails house was built upon. Sonic had insisted that celebrations were in order; Shadow had finally come to peace with his past, and the Earth had been saved. Shadow originally wanted no part of it, but as his nature, Sonic had pestered the black hedgehog to no end until he finally gave in just to shut him up. The rest of the gang had followed suit.

Rouge had to suppress a laugh at that one. They were a diverse group of people whose lives and stations were vastly different from one another, and yet they had somehow gotten to the point where they could call each other friends. Hell, even Eggman had been invited, and that certainly said a lot.

Rouge remembered that Tails had volunteered his home as the place for the bash. He had said that while they partied they could watch the sunrise and sunset. The kitsune had said that the going down of the sun would symbolize Shadow's close of his painful past, and that the rising sun would signal a bright and new future. That had cinched it. From the early evening till the rising of the sun they had partied. A grin crept onto her face at the other memory of what had transpired that night. Not only had that party been a symbol of Shadow's new life, but it had also been the place for the birth of a new relationship.

"You're here already? I thought you wouldn't be here until later on in the evening." Rouge placed the photo back on the mount and turned to regard Tails as he emerged from the hall with a towel hanging from his shoulders.

Rouge lowered her eyelids halfway and dropped the pitch of her voice. "Oh sugar, you're so good at what you do, I just had to come back early…" To her delight, Tails' muzzle became a bright cherry red and his eyes bounced around, trying to focus on anything but her. They finally settled at his feet.

"T-thanks. Glad you hold me in that regard… Uh, it's wafting in the back for you if you want it…" He tossed his towel onto the couch and walked back down the hall with a pep in his step that wasn't there before. Rouge followed suit.

They ambled past the bathroom door which emitted from steam from the crack under, indicating that the shower had been recently used. Now that she thought about it, Rouge had to admit that Tails had looked a bit… slicker than normal. More shiny and wet. She looked down at the tails in front of her and the fox's namesakes were indeed dripping wet. Not that she was surprised; with all the work he put into his machines, he had more than his fair share of oil dumped on him.

As they came to it, Rouge also observed that Tails' room door was ajar. She peeked in as she walked past and was not surprised to see the bed completely made. He'd not slept for goodness knows how long.

"Another all-nighter? You really shouldn't push yourself so hard."

They were at the end of the hall now the door in front of them led into the workshop adjacent to Tails' home. The fox gave a dismissive shrug and pushed open the door. The workshop was the same as the last time Rouge had been; to one wall were arranged a collection of highly advanced computers, scanners, and modules the likes that G.U.N. would have envied. To the other side was a large steel cabinet that took up the whole wall, no doubt containing the many tools and gadgets that Tails had created. Farther off was the fox's pride and joy, the Tornado. Though simple in looks, the pane more than made up for it in its capabilities. Unbeknownst to most others, she'd had a nice ride with Tails on it.

Her reverie was cut short as Tails spoke to her. "Over here Rouge. I think you might like this one!" His voice held a tinge of excitement. He hurried over to the middle of the room where on it lay a tool box and a strange collar-like device. As the bat came closer she beheld the thing as Tails held it up gingerly, as if afraid any sudden moves would break it.

"This is the Echo-Amplifier," Tails explained, his voice full of pride. "Bats, at least the microbats, have the ability of echolocation. As you know, this allows for the bat to navigate in complete darkness with a natural built in sonar. You're no exception."

Rouge gave a curt nod. This was basic bat knowledge. True to form, she did in fact have echolocation, but didn't use it very often. The clicks would surely give away her position to any creature who had powerful enough hearing, or if it was quiet.

Tails continued, "What the amplifier does is give out vibrations that strengthen the vocal cords and parts of your tongue, thereby making the clicks more powerful. You don't have to worry about being caught with this because the frequency of the clicks will be compressed and amplified to a frequency that only a dolphin could hear!"

Rouge gave her wings a stretch. "That's good and all, but how does that help me with my work, Tails?"

Tails gave her a grin so full of mischief that a small shudder ran down her spine. "That's the beauty of it. The clicks will be powerful enough to shatter glass and render most electronics useless for small periods of time. The longer the click, the longer the effect. Not to mention…" His grin became even more devious. "…A strong enough click could even cloud a person's mind, allowing for a window of opportunity to slip away."

For a few seconds Rouge only stared. Then she raised her hands and clapped, amazed at what Tails had concocted. "Tails this is brilliant! This could mean the difference between having a house full of jewels to having a mansion full of jewels!" She nearly jumped over the table to snatch the collar from his hands but Tails pulled back and held up a hand to stop her. He pinched his thumb, middle and index finger together and rubbed them.

Rouge's excited smile switched to an amused smirk at the universal sign of the dollar. "Greedy little thing. Aren't you?" She straightened up and pulled a thick stack of cash deliciously slow out of the mounds of her breasts behind the heart shaped breast plate. She tossed the stack to Tails, whose reddened face looked primed to burst and received the collar in turn. She immediately studied the thing. Purple strap, heart shaped pendant on the front. She grinned. Just her style. She clasped in on immediately.

Tails, who had regained his composure, was thumbing through the thick stack of hundreds. "It's not a matter of greed, Rouge. I just need the money. People think I an just crank out these machines day in and day out. For the most part, they're right." He paused in his thumbing to look at her. "But it's not a matter of building it, so much as it is gathering the supplies. I need metal, wires, filaments, cords, tools, everything! That costs money."

Rouge fingered the heart of the Echo-Amplifier. "Why not just get a job with G.U.N. then? You didn't hear it from me, but some of the higher ups are talking about offering you a job. With your expertise you could be an invaluable asset to them."

"No thanks! Part of the reason I like living out here is that I have the freedom to build what I want. If I worked for G.U.N., I'd have to build whatever they wanted me to. I'd lose that freedom." His gaze hardened. "Not to mention that G.U.N. has a less than stellar record. Who knows what that organization would have me build."

Rouge couldn't argue with him there. A lot of the heavy hitters in that organization were shady at best, and downright sociopath at worst. Not that all were like that, but a good number were. Power often went to people's heads and the superiors there were no exception. Should any of the greedy merchants or warmongers get their hands on Tails' inventions, things would turn deadly really fast…

Rouge broke that morbid line of thinking. "So, it's the usual?"

"Yep. The down payment for the technology and a fourth after your job is completed."

The thief gave a small chuckle. When Tails raised his brow in question, she said, " It's funny. Everyone has this image of you, all cute and innocent, adorably naïve. But in actuality you're as crafty and mischievous as they come, good heart aside. It tickles me inside to think of how much things would change if people found out. I can see the headlines now: **Miles Tails Prower: Thief Accomplice!**"

"More like an accessory; like you said, I'm the cute little fox. They'd sooner say that you somehow seduced me or forced me to work for you than believe I did it willingly. Not that I wouldn't say otherwise."

Rouge fluttered her eyelashes. "Aw, you'd share a cell with me? I'm touched, really." She sashayed around the table to stand in front of Tails. Quickly she lifted his chin and placed a deep kiss upon his lips. She only had to bend down a little to do it.

When she removed her lips, Tails was blushing an even deeper scarlet. "Consider that another bit of payment. I'll go out now, give this thing a test run." She fingered the amplifier. "See ya!"

Wit a quick flutter of her powerful wings Rouge soared out back the way they had come, the front door's bang announcing her departure.

His face burning, Tails thumbed through the cash and absentmindedly worried whether the heat from his blush would burn it…

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Just a little something I cooked up. My explanation on where Tails get the money for his inventions. Please review. Check out my profile; there's a poll.


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